


Small Caramel Frappuccino

by iuvui



Category: The Immortals - Tamora Pierce, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-22 04:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3714379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iuvui/pseuds/iuvui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daine's been working on opening a clinic in her Ma's name but she needs help getting an investor. Working in Onua's cafe, she meets Numair who's more than willing to assist... Modern AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meetings

"Small caramel frappuccino!"

It was a really busy day at the Rider's Café. Casual beachgoers and surfers alike were all crowded in. It was the beginning of a long weekend and it seemed like everyone was on vacation.

 _Where is Onua? I can't handle all this myself!_  thought a harried Daine Sarrasri. It was just her first month as an assistant manager and Onua, the café owner and basically Daine's older sister, had already trusted her with running things alone, leaving her with a mob of thirsty customers to help out a friend with some problem or another.

"Yo, Boss," called Farant, "We've been running out of straws for the last hour."

_Uh oh. Straws. Where are they again?_

"Out back, Daine-y!" Miri said walking by her. With a pixie cut and a splattering of freckles across her face, she was the impersonation of mischief and everyone's best friend.

"Um,  _hello?_ Anyone there? Can it understand me?" Farant's harsh voice echoed in her ear.

"Lay off, idjit," Evin announced, walking into the café for the beginning of the shift. "No worries, lambkin. He's just pissed Onua didn't even consider him for your job."

Evin Larse was a dear. A joker most of the time, but always helpful. Like Miri, actually.  _Those two are meant for each other._

"Thanks, Larse! And Farant, courteousness is expected of all our baristasat all times. Please do remember that."

She walked over to the dark room, waiting at the entrance with her eyes closed. The room was tiny and she doubted she'd ever get used to it. Small spaces still made her uncomfortable. Grabbing a stack of cups, she left as quickly as possible.

The others were working as fast as possible, trying to keep up with the flurry of orders. Well, all except Selda. She'd made it very clear that she was only working because otherwise her "Darling Daddy" had threatened to block her credit cards. This was apparently supposed to be a study in responsibility. Funny, because Daine always thought being responsible at work kind of meant actually working. Based on personal experience, she'd always tried not to judge others based on their backgrounds, but Selda… Now she's picking at her perfectly manicured nails.

Daine sighed and leaned against the counter, checking the clock. Half past three.  _I can make it! She'll be here soon!_ There were quite a few customers in line, dripping sea water and sand all over the place. That'll take some cleaning up. Maybe Farant could do it… Hard work might help fix that snarky attitude.

"Hey Dee," Miri slid next to her, adding an extra shot of espresso to some drink or another. "Doing anything later tonight?"

"Well, not really. Onua wanted me to stay back though. It's inventory night."

"Oh that stinks. Cute guy a few days ago mentioned a new club I thought we could check out!"

"I'll pass. Clubs aren't really my thing. Way too cramped."

"Ugh fine," Miri whined. "But we have to do something about your nonexistent social life. Speaking of, the blonde one over there looked interested in you! And he's definitely at least a seven… Oh look! Dimples! Now he's an eight!"

Daine could help smiling at Miri's indecisiveness. "Miri! We're working! We don't rank the customers, we make drinks for them. Now go make that vanilla whatchamacallit."

Miri grumbled something about a boring ol' hermit, picked up a cup and sloshed the milk in it everywhere. Graceful as a swan, that one.

_She's right about the hermit thing though. Having some fun every once in a while wouldn't hurt…_

_No. It hasn't been that long that I can just forget and move on with my life._

_It's been years! How much longer should I wait?_

_How could I just get on with life like that! Anyways, I need to get serious about finding a job._

_I have a job! It may not be permanent and definitely isn't what I want to do, but it's a job! Appreciate it!_

_First, Onua gave me this job as a favor. Sure, I'm overqualified and yeah, I do try my hardest here, but I still need to get out of her hair as soon as possible. And there's no point in having goals if I don't try work towards them. I've always wanted to rebuild Ma's clinic. There's no point giving that up now and that's the end of it!_

Daine shook her head. This was an old argument, one she'd had many times since moving to Corus. It never seemed to get resolved.

Her phone buzzed on the counter. It was a text from Onua. Apparently things were taking longer than expected.

The crowd of customers was beginning to thin now. A lot more breathing room now. The summer sun was low in the sky.

"And time's up! Laters," called Selda halfway through the door. She still had twenty minutes left. Oh well! Not like she was doing anything anyways. Speaking of shifts though, Evin's had been over for almost an hour now.

"Larse, you should leave. You don't get overtime." Daine called, looking for something to eat. She'd forgotten to lunch once again.

"Oh how could a man leave you two damsels in distress to deal with all those thirsty peeps? Really though, I tried but I got this weird, sick feeling in my stomach. I think people call it guilt?"

"Well one damsel just left and the other, well, I don't think Farant appreciates you calling him that," Miri laughed.  _Yup. Totally meant for each other._

"Ha ha ha. No, I've got a date with a lovely brunette near here in about ten minutes. I'll be out of your curly curls soon, my dear Veralidaine."

Daine slammed the apple she'd been nibbling on the table. No one called her Veralidaine.  _No one._  Well her last boss, Ozorne, had insisted on it but he was absolutely disgusting. Real touchy, that one. One threatened sexual harassment charge and a swift resignation later, he wasn't a problem.  _Of course, I am still looking for a job… Even though I have a job. No! We're not starting this again._

_Wait, talking to yourself is a sign of impending madness, right?_

_Mouse manure. Can't bother about being mad now._

She checked the clock again. Quarter past six.  _Nearly closing time now. Might as well start inventory since no one's here._

"Miri, could you help me set up for inventory? Farant, cleaning's yours today. Finish up quick and you can go home early."

Farant sullenly stalked towards the closet, feet dragging across the floor. Miri skipped to the music player and changed the music from some instrumental Mediterranean songs to some obnoxious pop artist or another.

"Background music!" she chirped. Daine preferred indie to pop music any day but she let it play. Farant seemed to like it if his wagging rear and off-key vocals were any indication. Plus Miri hated songs that didn't play fifty times over on the radio. Need to keep her happy to get work done.

Inventory was Daine's least favorite part about this job, mainly because it was so time consuming. There were a lot of things to go through; Onua was meticulous when it came to record keeping.

Farant finished up in record time, out of the door in minutes. Miri struggled, trying to carry far more than she actually could. Daine rushed over to help her.

"Daine? Why can't you go into the closet?" Miri asked hesitantly. " I mean I get if –"

"Claustrophobia." Daine answered. It was a common question.

"Oh… Did something happen or…?" Miri continued, glancing at Daine from the corner of her eye.

"Umm… Not really. It's always been there." She'd always been afraid of small spaces. Her Ma always said it was because of her free soul. It had only gotten worse over time though, and what had happened all those years ago didn't help much either.

_No. No more thinking about that._

With all the boxes now stacked up on the counter and every other tabletop available.  _This will take some time._

"Miri, you can go. It's been a long day. I can wait for Onua."

"Are you sure? You'll be here all alone and I don't mind, really!"

"It's fine! I can take care of myself. Go on! You have all those tv shows to catch up on. Who am I to stop you?"

Miri 's freckled face broke into a lopsided grin as she quickly gathered up her stuff. "Thanks Daine! I've been keeping off the Interwebs for ages now trying to avoid spoilers!"

Daine rolled her eyes. Some people just got so  _obsessed_. "Have funsies!"

"You too! Inventory all the way!" Miri called from outside. "Night! I'll call tomorrow to make plans for later!"

_Darn. Hope she'd forgotten._

Daine looked at all the boxes around her. This was no task for just one person. Onua would be pissed if she started by herself. She always complained Daine worked too hard.

_Well, guess this is free time!_

Pulling down her bag from a hook behind the counter, Daine slipped out her laptop and settled down on the floor between boxes filled with coffee beans from all over the world. Onua was insistent on getting the widest variety of coffee available. Daine sometimes thought it was more for herself rather than the customers. That woman seemed to inhale the stuff.

Getting herself comfortable, Daine switched off Miri's music and booted up her computer. Her lifelong dream was to open a clinic in honor of her Ma. Her Ma had been a doctor, and a great one at that. She often treated patients for free, insistent that no one should have to spend exorbitant fees to live the healthy lives they were meant to lead. She'd had a makeshift clinic of her own but Daine had to have it shut down due to financial troubles. Treating patients for free meant her Ma had been deep in debt.

She managed to work her way through college but was now paying off an insane amount of debt. The only way she'd be able to open a clinic within her own lifetime would be by finding a very generous investor. So far, no one thought she was capable of running such an establishment due to her young age.

_Odd's bobs! I helped out in Ma's clinic from the day I could do long division. My age is definitely not a problem!_

Daine quickly checked her inbox and then, after deleting a mess of spam, opened her proposal to investors. The last firm hadn't even glanced past the first page, saying the estimated statistics were far too optimistic.  _Time to check them over again!_

She immersed herself in her work. Starting the clinic was her purpose but business was her passion. She'd always loved the behind the scenes work that went on at the clinic. Business school had almost been easy for her.

Time passed by. She quietly worked on, her only companion the rapid taps from her keyboard.

The door suddenly jangled and crashed open, breaking the silence. Daine leaped up and yelped. _Gosh darn it! What the heck?_

"Hey Daine! I'm ba- Oh did I scare you?" Onua asked, noticing her expression for the first time.

Daine glared at her. "Maybe if you came in like a person and not an… an… Ox!"

Onua's huge dog came bounding up to Daine, jumping all over her and knocking her on her back. His name was Tahoi, but Daine affectionately called the big beast "Ox." He was a Great Dane mutt on the outside and the cuddliest sweetheart on the inside.

Ox sniffed Daine all over, only pulling back after licking every inch of her face. He then sat down, tail thumping the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Daine patted him on the head and pushed herself off the floor.

Onua was inside now, picking her way through all the boxes to the coffee machine. "Coffee, Daine?"

"Yes please!" Daine started packing up her bag again. It was time to get inventorying!

"You, Numair? We'll probably be busy for a long time."  _Wait, what? Who?_ She looked up at Onua in confusion. Onua was looking towards the doorway, a mischievous smirk on her face.

Daine awkwardly turned to the doorway, still in a half-sitting position.  _Woah that's tall!_ He almost reached the top of the doorway. His hair nearly reached his shoulders but was tied back. His eyes were dark, looking at the jumble of boxes in shock.  _He's the_ definition _of tall, dark, and handsome. Never thought that was possible…_ It took him a moment to answer Onua.

"Umm… Yeah! Coffee sounds good! Great…" he finally broke his gaze away form the mess. His voice was soft but deep, almost hesitant in the way he articulated each word.. "Onua, what's all this?"

"Inventory!" she grinned evilly.

"Wait, we have to go through all of this?" Now he just looked scared.

"Well, think of this as a lesson to always check your gas before leaving for a roadtrip!"

Daine watched the exchange between the two, amused.  _Poor guy. Onua can be ruthless._

"You'll also be giving Daine a break, so that's good," Onua added. She turned to Daine, balancing three cups and a plate of muffins. "And I expect you to take it easy, young lady! Today must have been a lot to handle."

Numair looked at Daine, noticing for the first time that there was someone among the boxes. His face broke into a shy smile.

"Hi, I'm Numair. Onua's told me a lot about you," he said, walking over to help her finally get up.

She smiled up to him and took the offered hand. "Oh has she? I don't recall her saying anything about you to be honest."

"Oh he's the one who that thought he was a hawk the first time he got drunk!"

He blushed.

"Oh that's you? Guess I have heard about you! Wait isn't that the same one who accidentally dated those twins at the same time?"

His face flushed even more.  _Heh. He's totally awkwarded out._

"Yeah! He also –"

"Haven't you already stained my reputation enough?" He had finally regained his composure. The hesitance in his voice replaced by a nonchalant drawl, his long body gracefully leaning against the wall.  _He's like a cat… A big cat. Big but graceful. A panther?_

"Oh I haven't even begun," Onua cackled evilly. She passed a cup to Daine and sat herself down on the floor. "Daine, don't feel obligated to help. You've done more than enough today. You can actually go early if you want… Though I was going to order Thai."

"No worries. I'll stay. There's a lot more to go through this time and I haven't got much else to do."

Numair came over to sit down next to Onua. "So, what  _do_  we have to do?"

Daine walked over to e counter to get Onua's work laptop. Onua was mumbling instructions, unable to talk through the muffin she had stuffed in her mouth.

"We basically open up all these boxes, count what's left in them, and record those numbers here," she translated.

Numair nodded. "Seems easy enough. What should I do?"

"You'll carry things and count them and do whatever else we want!" Onua proclaimed, slamming her fist on the floor.  _Poor guy._

He sighed. A tired, look on his face as he looked at her. Daine came over to sit on Onua's other side, the three of them making a triangle on the floor.

"Well, time for box  _numero uno_! Oh Numy-dear!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	2. Bonding Times

A few hours later, most of the boxes were taken care of, the floor now littered with empty takeout boxes. The three worked steadily, too tired to waste time. Conversation between them had been fun with Onua teasing Numair relentlessly and Numair responding the same. Needless to say, Daine heard a lot of embarrassing stories that night.

They were now finishing the last box. "Done!" Onua cheered. "You should help out all the time…"

"Ha! No thanks… I definitely did learn my lesson though," Numair replied, sretching as he got up to put the last box away.

"Well, guess it's time to get home," Onua said, getting up with Daine. "We deserve a good night's sleep."

"Yup. Can I get a ride, Onua?"

"Course! Got a place to stay, Numair?"

"Yeah! I booked a room at that hotel by the beach. I'll drop by some time tomorrow," he said, picking up his jacket and heading towards the door. "It was nice to finally meet you, Daine!"

Daine looked up from packing her bag and flashed him a quick but tired smile. "Likewise! Have a good night! And thanks for the help."

"Of course. Good night! Night, Onua!" he called, stepping outside.

"Night! Come on Tahoi! Got everything, Daine?" Onua asked, grabbing her car keys and Tahoi's leash from the counter.

Daine nodded.

_Numair was really nice. Nothing like the way Onua described him._

"So! Got any plans for the weekend? And I do expect you to take tomorrow evening off."

"I think I actually might be doing something! Miri wants me to get out more, have some fun tomorrow night... How about you?"

"Alanna 'n George are in town! I just spoke to them today and we're probably going to have dinner or something on Sunday. Wanna come with?"

"Oh I haven't seen Lanna in ages! I wouldn't be butting in or anything right?" Daine asked hesitantly.

"No, of course not! They said they would've called you too today but I told them you would probably be busy."

"Ugh yes, today was insane! Of all the days for you to leave me all alone."

"You could manage it! Plus I had to. Numair may be a genius but he sure is absentminded… Bit nutty too. I couldn't just leave him out in the middle of nowhere all by himself!"

"Onua, the shining knight in armor," Daine said sarcastically. She picked up her bag as her apartment approached.

"That's right! Have a good night, Daine." Onua pulled up to the curb in front of the building.

"You too," she said, giving Tahoi one last ear rub and exiting the car.

She listened to Onua drive away, the only other sound the ocean's waves. Daine walked up the stairs to her home.  _Gosh, I hope Cloud didn't rip anything up today._  Cloud, her smoky grey cat, had the habit of ripping up what little furniture Daine had whenever she felt like Daine had taken too long to come home. Daine checked the sofa as soon as she opened the door.  _Oh thank the gods._  Safe. Cloud was sitting on the windowsill, looking at the street below.

"Hi Cloud."

No response.  _The true Grumpy Cat._

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good night."

Daine slung her bag in the closet, closed the door halfway and promptly walked over to her bathroom. A few minutes later, she collapsed in her bed. Just as she was falling asleep, she felt something furry burrow itself next to her. She smiled at her cat's act of forgiveness.

The next morning found Daine at the cafe bright and early. It was surprisingly empty for a morning.  _Guess everyone's just sleeping off Friday night._ Farant was with her, switching through channels on TV. He finally settled on  _Adventure Time? Wouldn't have expected that from him…_

He looked at her from the corner of her eye. "I babysit my niece and nephew and they got me hooked," He muttered.

_Heh… Who would have thought?_

It was incredibly empty. The door jingled when Evin came in for his shift a couple of hours later, dark circles under his eyes and his hair and ruffled up. He just walked up to a table and collapsed in the chair. A few seconds later she heard him lightly snore.

_Argh. Where is everyone?_

A few minutes later, the door jingled again. This time it was a sweet old couple.  _Customers!_  They hobbled up to the counter and ordered two teas, two tea bags each.

She took her time ringing them up. Farant, on the other hand, had their drinks ready in record time, attention on the tv. The Ice King had just kidnapped some princess or another… again.

"Oh you youngsters and your television. No one takes the time to just sit back and appreciate life anymore," the woman said, a small smile on her face as she eyed Farant.

They left soon after, holding hands and murmuring to each other.  _They're adorable… Imagine loving someone that much after so many years._

The café fell silent again. Daine looked over at Evin.  _Is he drooling? Poor guy._ She checked the clock. It was only a couple of hours before Miri was supposed to come in.  _I could just send him home… Him and Farant._

"Farant, you could go if you want," she said.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He finally nodded and just picked up his stuff and left.

"Hope you have a good day too, Farant," Daine grumbled as she walked over to Evin.

"Evin," she said, shaking his shoulder. "Go get some sleep."

He turned his head the opposite direction. She poked him.

"Evin!"

"But I am sleeping," he slurred, eyes still closed.

"No go sleep at home! In bed! You know that nice comfy thing with lots of fluffy pillows and cozy blankets?"

He groaned some more but finally sat up.  _Oh gosh he's probably just going to fall asleep in his car._

"You want some coffee? To get you home?"

He nodded with his eyes still shut. Daine got up and made a quick cup. He looked a bit more awake when she put it in front of him.  _At least his eyes are open._

He drank it all in one gulp then opened his eyes as much as possible and shook himself.

"Alright. I'm awake now!" He shot her a tired smile and got up.

"Drive safe," she called after him as he stumbled towards the door. He waved back and a few seconds later she heard him drive off.  _And then there was one._

She grabbed her laptop and sat down on a table. Onua would come in soon but she could still get some work done. Wasn't like the place was overflowing with customers or anyone really.

She was about to get to work when the door opened. She looked up. It was Numair.

He looked around confusedly, head poking through the door.

"Um, can I come in?"

"Oh no you couldn't possible fit in with all these customers here."

"Ha ha," he mumbled, walking through the door. "I guess everyone's sleeping off the opening of that new club."

_Oh right. Miri mentioned that…_

"Oh wells. I'm not complaining. Yesterday was packed." She got up and got behind the counter. "Coffee?"

"Sure. Just black please! Is Onua here?"

"No she comes in a bit late on Saturdays. She'll be here soon."

"Ah." He looked around. "Looks a lot better without all those boxes!"

"Oh yes, definitely."  _Uh oh… Awkward conversation coming up._

He ambled over to the counter and leaned against the edge.

"So…"

She smirked, her back to him.  _You can_ feel _the awkward._

She finished the cup and set it in front of him.

"Oh no! You don't have to," she said, noticing him pulling out a credit card.

"Hm?"

"Any friend of Onua's is a friend of free coffee!"  _Wait, that was stupid._

"How does she manage to keep business up with that policy? She knows practically all of Corus…"

"Right? That's what I asked her! Then she just shook her head and started wailing about business schools killing the personal aspect of being successful."

"Oh gosh did you get the whole 'Do you want to be a heartless vending machine?' speech too?" Numair asked, a dramatically sad look on his face.

Daine nodded laughing. The sad look morphed into a smile.

"So you're in business?" Daine questioned a couple of moments later.  
"Yup! I'm an advisor of sorts. You?"

"I just finished business school last year. I was working at this one company, Carthak Co., for a few months but that didn't work out."

He froze halfway to taking a sip, his face an emotionless mask.  _Umm…?_

"Do you know the place?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked up at her. Relaxing a bit he gave her a wry smile.

"Yeah I interned there as a student… So what are you doing here?"

_Alright. So no more mentioning Carthak._

"I'm between jobs. I used to live with Onua while at university and when I came back here she offered me this lovely position while I get back on my feet."

"Ah I see. It's still kind of hard out there. Onua mentioned you were working on something on the side?"

"Yeah actually. I'm trying to start a clinic for the underprivileged."

He looked up interested.

"That's a huge commitment… Why don't you tell me about it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. "Mussels"

When Onua walked in a half hour later, she came upon the two of them huddled over Daine's computer screen, talking excitedly.

"Good morning!" she called out cheerfully. She frowned when they didn't respond and walked over to the two.

Daine yelped when Onua cleared her throat in front of them. Numair jerked out of his chair, spilling his coffee all over himself.

"Horse lords, Onua! You can't just sneak up on people like that!"

"Mithros that's hot!"

"What if I was a customer?" Onua scowled, looming over them.

"Then I would apologize with all my heart and beg for forgiveness?" Daine replied meekly, shrinking away from Onua.  _Darn she can get scary!_

"And you Numair! Distracting her…" Onua tsked wisely. "I expected more."

"I wasn't doing anything! And that's hot…" Numair said sadly, hastily trying to dab the coffee off his shirt.

"Take that off. I have an extra in the back," Onua walked over to the backroom.

Numair got up and pulled the wet shirt off.  _Heh. Muscles. Mussels? Mussels._  Onua returned with a t-shirt from some long gone promotion. She threw it in Numair's face and gave Daine a look. _Uh-oh was I staring? Oops. Studying anatomy! That's what I was doing!_

She quickly turned away and stared at her computer screen, face flushed.  _Uh oh… Blush alert!_ She busied herself with saving the open document.

"So," Onua began. She looked way too innocent. "What were you two up to?"

"Just talking about Daine's pet project…" Numair said distractedly. He was trying to adjust the shirt but it was about a size too small.  _Musclesss._

"Mhmm! Numair gave some great ideas for the proposal."

"Hmm. He is pretty good at what he does."

"Why thanks, Onua! See, it didn't kill you to say that now did it?"

"Ahhhhhhh help!" Onua collapsed, clutching her chest. She writhed on the floor some more before dissolving into laughter _._ Numair stuck his tongue out at her and sulkily pulled out his phone.  _Two big four year olds. That's what they are._

"Oh it's almost 11! I've got to meet someone for lunch… We should talk about this a bit more though! If you don't mind… And if you're free."

"Definitely! Your help is much appreciated."

"Great," he smiled. "So I'll come in tomorrow? After lunch?"

"Sounds good!"  _Yay!_

"It's a date!" Onua called from the floor.

He scowled down at her. Sticking his tongue out one last time he grabbed his stuff and started heading for the door.

"Til' tomorrow then," he called waving at the door.

Daine and Onua both waved back.

"You have tomorrow off," Onua said as soon as the door shut.  _Oh yeah…_

"Must have forgotten…"  _Please let it end here!_

"Mhmm sure… Are you feeling alright though? Memory loss is a symptom of  _crushitis_! That along with blushing." Onua grabbed a pastry, smirking the entire time.

"Ha ha ha…" Daine murmured.

"You guys seemed to be getting real chummy… You know he's one hell of a player right? You know maybe I should just step in now… Before it gets worse," she trailed off, getting serious.

"Oh gosh no Onua there's no problem, alright!? He was only helping me," Daine said flustered once more.

"Hm," Onua grunted.

"Seriously! And I honestly forgot about tomorrow… It's been a long week."

Onua studied her from the corner of her eye. "You look exhausted too… Why don't you take a half day today? I doubt there'll be many people in today and Sarge will probably be dropping in later on."

"Ooooh Sarge's coming? I see…" Daine smirked.

"Oh stop it! But you really do deserve a break."

Alrighty then! Be good!" Daine gathered her stuff up and waved goodbye.

Daine started across the slightly more lively street.  _Looks like the day's finally begun!_ Just then her phone buzzed. She rummaged through her bag searching for it and didn't notice the light turn green.

She felt herself being yanked backwards against what felt like a wall as a truck sped by right in front of her, horn blaring.  _What?_

"Oh my gosh are you alright?" rumbled the wall. She turned around in its grip to face a very worried looking Numair,

"Oh Numair, thanks," she mumbled, still a little shaken. "I guess I didn't see the light and… thanks."

"Yeah no problem. I said your name a couple of times but you looked preoccupied." He had a different shirt on now. This one looked his size.  _Unfortunately…_

"Hah yeah… Oh this is Yolane, my… friend?" He gestured to a tall, pinched faced blonde.  _Oh didn't even see her. What's up with that face?_

"Hi, I'm Daine," she held out her hand.

"Pleasure," Yolane replied, glancing at Daine with a pained smile.

"Well we were just on our way to lunch…"

"Right! Yeah I'll see you later then! Nice meeting you Yolane."

"Yeah! Til tomorrow then!" Numair said snaking his arm around a very dissatisfied looking Yolane.

_Well that was unexpected. Pretty "friend" though… He totally is a player huh. Good thing he was there though! Where even is my phone?_

Daine rummaged through her bag once more, her fingers finally closing around the familiar block. Pulling it put, she checked her messages.

"Hey D. In town. Free?" She looked at the senders name.  _Ugh no not Perin, not now! No, just no!_ It was amazing how just six words could make her blood boil _._

She deleted the message and added a string of monster emojis next to his contact name.  _It's the little things._

Miri's name came up just as Daine was putting her phone away.

"Heyyyyy! Wanna do lunch? Then MAJOR PARTYING BB!"

 _Well, it's not like I have any plans…_ Texting Miri back, Daine found a bench to settle at. No point walking with no place to go.

Miri responded a few seconds later. Deciding on a cute little outdoorsy shack on the beach, Daine walked home to get changed before heading over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Mostly Shopping

Sprawled out on a beach towel with empty takeout containers surrounding them, Daine and Miri leaned back and continued observing those around them.

"That one over there, with the notebook, do you think she's drawing or writing?" Daine asked lazily.

"Hmm… She keeps looking up so drawing maybe? She seems more like an artist than a writer. I mean, look at all her rings!"

"Miri you can't just make assumptions like that!"

"I had an aunt who wore lots of rings and all she did was draw all day! Bam… precedent."

"Lords, don't ever become a lawyer Meers."

"Heh, nah. Environmental science is all I've ever wanted to do."

"How  _has_  that being going? You're taking summer classes now, right?"

"Yup! Trying to get my darn GE's out of the way. I'm taking calculus and it's definitely the worst thing I've ever- Oh my gosh look at that piece of man flesh. Darn."

Daine looked in the direction Miri was nodding. Lo and behold, it was Perin with a few of his other rat-faced friends.  _And he sees us_.  _Ugh._  He'd texted her a few more times after that near death experience but she's staunchly ignored them all _. He's coming towards us. What did I do to deserve this?!_

"Oh look he's coming here!" Miri whispered excitedly.

"No, not him Miri. I know him and he's a creep. Just, no."

Perin had came up in front of them by the time Daine finished. Throwing on a roguish smirk, he set his hands on his hips and looked down at her.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, dear. Someone's been ignoring my texts. Naughty, naughty Daine…"

"Leave before I call the cops. Again."

"Well at least introduce me to your friend.  _She_  looks like she'd like a good time." He pointedly looked at Miri's relatively low-cut top.

Miri yanked up her shirt and stood up, towering over Perin in fierceness if not height.

"I think my friend asked you to leave," she snarled.  _Wow she's got this. This'll be fun to watch._

"Ooh feisty! I like that," he replied, stretching out his arm towards her.

Miri grabbed his arm and had him pinned under her knee within seconds, his head pushed into the sand. Daine took a sip of her drink and leaned over him as well.

"If only you had listened my darling Perry-boo. I think I made it perfectly clear that we have nothing to do with each other. Or do you need a reminder?"

"Doesn't look like he understands, Dee. Plus I'd like some background too," Miri casually added.

"You see, Perin here was my old roommate's boyfriend for what, a couple of months? He thought it would be fun to give her a little something something at this one party to make her loosen up a bit. She was knocked out for nearly a day afterward and even the paramedics had trouble finding out what he gave her… We called the cops on him that day but he'd disappeared along with all my roomie's cash. The cops couldn't do much either because she  _had_  been willing to experiment… Our justice system could  _really_  benefit from some improvements. He went after me then and I called the cops on him then but looks like he didn't learn his lesson… Some people just don't understand that 'no' isn't a request."

"Wow he truly is a rat. What should we do now?"

Daine seriously thought about that for a moment. "Maybe I should call the cops again. He is stalking me… What do you think?"

"Call the cops? They'll be busy this weekend though, what with all the tourists' parking tickets and stuff."

Daine just shrugged and started packing up their things and stuffing their trash in a bag.  _Not like the cops can stop him. His very presence shows that it apparently didn't help last time so why would it work this time?_

"Let's just go. His friends are already judging him for being taken down by a girl," she yawned. The sun was really making her drowsy. She finished her drink and then yanked his head out of the sand by his hair. "But if you ever talk to me or even  _look_  at either on of us again, I swear I _will_  hurt you."

Getting up, she brushed off sand from herself and lent a hand to Miri.  _That was weak. But what else can I do…_

Miri gave him a shove as she stood up and walked away, head held high.  _She's a tough one._ Perin got up on all fours and spit out some sand, mumbling profanities.

"So wanna go shopping? You need something cute to wear tonight! I'm gonna make sure tonight's the best night ever!" Miri smirked, twirling around and walking backwards.

"Is there any way I can get out of this?" Daine groaned.

"Nope!" Miri smiled brightly, tossing their trash into the bin at the parking lot. "As the wise Regina George said, 'Get in loser. We're going shopping.'" Miri unlocked her shiny Prius and slid into the driver's seat.  _Ugh, I hate shopping._

Five hours later, the two had been to seven different boutiques and a handful of larger stores yet Miri hadn't yet found anything she was satisfied with.

"Ok, how about this one?" Miri pulled out a satin dress in the most horrendous shade of orange.

"You hate me," Daine deadpanned.

"Maybe this is your color! You'll never know if you don't try it." She shoved it into Daine's hands and pushed her back into the changing rooms. "Show it to me when you're done."

Daine groaned and slouched into the mirrored cubicle. She furiously stripped off her jeans and shirt for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day.

"Stupid Miri. Colorblind Miri. Dumb Miri," Daine mumbled, a scowl marring her features. Unable to zip the dress up, she flung the door open and strode out.  _Where. Is. She._  Miri was nowhere to be seen. Daine walked past the seating area and into the main store.  _I am going to kill her._

"Daine?!" a voice choked out. Daine whirled around, only just remembering her entire back was uncovered. She pulled the sides of her dress together and faced the voice.

"Oh my," Miri's familiar voice said, masking a laugh. "That definitely isn't your color."

Daine turned to face her friend, scowling. "I told you so! I look like an Oompa Loom-" Miri wasn't alone. Standing next to her was a slightly more awake Evin.  _What's he doing here? Ugh, he's about to laugh isn't he._

"Just don't say anything," she grumbled up at him.  _What is he even doing here?_  "I'm going to go change. Miri, I hate you."

"It's not that bad!" Evin protested, a few giggles escaping.  _Imagine that. A person his age still capable of giggling. Incredible._

Daine sighed as she undressed yet again. Just as she was about to put her shirt back on, Miri's bubbly voice stopped her.

"I found it!" she exclaimed triumphantly, flinging a dark gray, satiny piece of cloth over the door and hitting Daine in the face. Daine yelped and yanked the cloth off. She spun it around until it was straight and scowled at it's clean cut.  _Darn it. This one's cute. I'll have to try it on._ She pulled it over head and sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time. She paused before the small dressing room mirror, turning this way and that. The cut flattered her neat waist and accentuated the curves of her softer lower half. And it was one sale!  _Probably since gray isn't the most summery of colors. Oh well._   _I guess this one will do. No point in letting Miri see it now though… She deserves it for making me wait this long._ Daine smirked.

Walking out she saw Evin and Miri talking at the stained couches set up outside. They were having what seemed to be a normal conversation but there was a bit more tension between them than usual.  _They aren't even making eye contact… Could they finally be getting together? Yes! I might still have a chance of winning that bet with Onua…_

She walked up to them, declaring "This one's good. Are we done now?"

"Oh, but Daine I didn't even get to see it!" Miri pouted, immediately putting some distance between her and Evin.

"We've been at this for hours! I was fine with that first dress we tried on, the purple one! But no. You made me move on looking for 'The One' and now that I've found it you'll have to wait!" Daine moved towards the counter, rummaging through her bag for her wallet. She ignored Miri's further complaints.

"Hey you girls want anything? I think I'm going to grab a smoothie from the place next door," Evin broke in from behind them, smiling at all the childishness.

"Nah I'm fine," Daine called over her shoulder.

"I'll take anything you find with mango," Miri said. Daine moved to the side to let Evin through the cramped space and immediately turned to Miri.

"So? What's going on? Why's he here?

"I asked him if he wanted to come to the club with us since he seemed excited about it last night. He's coming by the way! He also asked if I wanted to grab something to eat and… is this a date? I don't get it? We were supposed to leave like a half hour ago but I lost track of time so he just came here."

"Hah of course! No wonder you guys seemed so awkward. It could be… Did he ask just you or me too? And do you want me to stay behind? I'll totally do that for you. Give you a chance to spend some one-on-one time with him!"  _She's not going to say yes but I might as well try!?_

Miri just snorted. "Well, I hope you don't mind if I just see you later then?"

"Oh no, of course not! I have time to go home and catch a catnap now. Are you going to pick me up?" Daine slid her dress over to the bored looking cashier, flashing her a smile.

"Yup! Thank you so much!" Miri threw her arms around Daine's neck, nearly choking her. "You're the bestest. See you later then?" Miri pulled away and bounced back to the entrance where Evin was.

 _They're meant for each other._ Finishing the transaction, Daine picked up her bag and walked out into the busy street.  _Darn it! I don't have my car!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Night Out

Waiting for the bus on a weekend was a joke. It came about twenty minutes late and by the time Daine had finally trudged along home, she had less than an hour to get ready. She crashed on her couch as soon as she got in, cuddling a sleepy Cloud.

"Oh Cloud! I'm so tired I don't want to goooo!"

After lying there for a few minutes, Daine finally got up. Dragging her feet, she made her way to her cramped bathroom. She plugged in her straightener and looked down at Cloud who had followed her in, yawning. Cloud pounced on to the counter and curled up in the nearly empty Kleenex box.

"Better get to it, huh Cloud?" she sighed. She pinned up her hair in sections and sighed again at her reflection in the mirror.  _This is going to take forever._

Miri texted precisely at 8. Daine was sitting on her couch, all dolled up eating a bowl of cereal. Hair straight, dress on, eyeliner done, and heels sitting ready next to the door, Daine was physically ready for the rest of the night. Not so much mentally; she was sure Miri would set her up with someone or another, pushing her to have fun. Daine pushed herself off the couch to open the door only to step back again at the high pitched squealing.

"Oh my gosh, Dee! You look fantastic! I'm so excited for tonight!" Miri cut her rambling off, looking at the bowl in Daine's hand. "Cereal for dinner? You  _need_  to start eating proper meals Daine."

Remembering the bowl, Daine turned to drop it into the sink. "I haven't had the chance to get any food. Plus, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is made with whole grains!"

Daine turned back to get her shoes, smirking at Miri's snort. Miri was dressed in a little black dressed covered in sequins. Teetering on sky high gold heels, she began rummaging through her clutch.

"Here!" she brandished a tube of lipstick. "This would look great on you."

Daine smiled thankfully before reluctantly grabbing the lipstick.  _Eyeliner probably isn't enough anyways._

Grabbing her bag and a jacket, she stepped out, pulling the door shut. Straightening out her skirt, she asked Miri who was driving.

"Oh Evin's waiting in the car."

"Right, how was dinner?"

"Umm… normal I guess. There's this new pasta at that Italian place and it's really good."

"Have their breadsticks gotten good again?"

"Mhmm!" Miri nodded with a smile, opening the door to Evin's car. Daine slid in the back seat, calling out a greeting.

"Aren't you excited Daine-y poo?" he asked with a grin.

"Sure… I hope it isn't too crowded."

"Oh don't worry! I've heard it's very classy. And we'll be with you!"

The club was downtown, in a brick building covered in string lights. The line to get in was insanely long, full of people teetering in heels and fixing shirt collars.  _Fancy. At least we aren't overdressed…_ Evin gave a whistle as they drove by it, looking for parking.

"Wow," Miri said shocked. "Why don't you park the next street over? I think there's a lot there."

"Cool… Think we'll get in?"

Daine looked back at the line, which curled nearly around the block. "Maybe?" They were letting people in pretty slow but they weren't being nearly as discriminating as other high-end places. _That's a nice change._

Evin suddenly swerved into a recently vacated parking spot and parked. Getting out, Daine noticed how he rushed out to Miri's side of the car, only to then stand aside awkwardly. Daine smirked as she slammed her door shut. Walking behind Miri, she saw her friend slowly slide up next to Evin and put her hand in his.  _Heh it's happening! Daine 1, Onua 0._

They'd almost reached the end of the line when Daine heard someone calling her name from behind. Whirling around, she nearly lost her balance. Once she was stable once more, she scowled at the approaching figure.

"Ha ha ha, Alanna. Like you can walk in heels too!" Her face broke into a smile as she approached the other woman.

"Well that's why I don't wear them, lass," Alanna grinned, mimicking her boyfriend's particular speech. Reaching out she gave Daine a tight hug.

George chuckled as he joined the pair. "Heels would give you an advantage, lass," he mentioned bemusedly. "Maybe that way others could reach you without bending halfway over."

Daine laughed at Alanna's responding scowl and the whack she gave George.

"I'm so happy you guys are here! How long are you visiting for?"

"Just the weekend. We actually just got here a few hours ago" Alanna responded, straightening her shirt. She had on a flowy white shirt and simple black trousers along with flats. George was wearing the same combination only a more laid back version.  _Then again, everything George does is laid back_.

"We just had dinner and decided to check in on this new club," George added. "One of our friends mentioned it and had some sort of part in it."

"Oh we're going that way too!" Daine suddenly remembered her other friends. Looking around for them, she spotted Evin waving from near the end of the line.

Alanna snorted. "No way I'm waiting in that line. I'm gonna go up front and see if we can slip in a few names and bypass this mob. Coming with, laddy-buck?"

"Of course, my lady!" George replied with a mock bow. "Excuse us a minute, Daine."

Daine smiled up at him and watched him follow Alanna past the line. Going up to join her Evin and Miri, she noticed they were having a heated debate about something. As she got closer, she caught a few words. Lord of the Rings _vs._ Star Wars.  _Of course. What else would it be?_

It had all started a couple of weeks ago when Miri decided to split the tip jar into  _Lord of the Rings_  and  _Star Wars_ to see which people preferred. Miri is a devout Tolkien fan, so when Evin started his shift and made a comment about how  _Star Wars_ was obviously better, she snapped. They didn't talk to each other for a couple of days. It only comes up at random times now.

"Excuse me?"

Daine turned again, this time taking care to be more careful. Leaning towards her was a huge suited man. Daine blinked. "Yes?" she asked hesitantly. Miri and Evin stopped arguing too and looked up in confusion.

"Daine Sarrasri? You and your party are on the VIP list, so if you'll follow me?" He started to the club, not waiting for confirmation.

"Umm VIP?" Miri whispered, coming up to Daine.

"I have no idea?! Alanna probably?" Daine whispered up equally excited. She giggled, listening to everyone else in line grumbling as the walked by.

They walked in to the club, impressed at once. There were lights everywhere in the dim gloom and two visible levels.  _Wait, is that a chandelier?_ The music's beat pulsed through the air and people were dancing near the slightly elevated stage.

The suit left them mysteriously with a grumbled "Enjoy." Looking around, Daine felt a bit overwhelmed.  _At least it's open. It should be fine as long as I stay out of the crowd._ Miri nudged her in the shoulder, nodding towards the bar. "Should we scope out the place first?"

Daine nodded and smiled, following Miri with Evin behind. Taking a seat at one of the tables near the bar, they sent Evin to the bar with drink orders.

Daine looked around from her vantage point. There weren't many familiar faces at all. In the middle of the dancing were a few of the tourists that had dropped by the café the previous day, and then there was that one friend of Evin's, and was that Buri? It was a small town so most of the unrecognizable faces Daine assumed were tourists.  _A lot of tourists for a new place._   _But where did Alanna and George go?_

The upper level had more tables and more couches and such. The light up there was far darker and she couldn't quite see who was there.

Evin soon returned with their drinks. They had some casual conversation again before finally just falling into a comfortable silence, people watching. Evin soon left to say hi to his friend, and it was just Daine and Miri.

"So," Miri began, draining the rest of her drink. "Wanna dance? Or another drink?"

"Hmm…"  _I'm not buzzed enough to dance. And Miri's definitely going to want to dance… Unless Evin asks her…? Hehehe._ Daine drained hers as well with a grin. "Another."

Some time later, Evin returned back to the table to find Miri and Daine giggling uncontrollable. "Hey. So, wassup you guys?" he asked with a confused smile. Miri looked up at him with a lazy smile. Evin grinned down at her too. "You alright, Meers?"

Miri crinkled her nose up at him. "Do you want to dance?"

"Can you even stand straight?" he asked bemused.

Miri struggled off the stool, swaying dangerously in place. Evin watched her, chuckling. When she was finally upright, she grinned up at him and grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the music.

"Will you be fine, Daine?"

"I'll be here," Daine nodded, happy for her friends. Watching Miri stumble away, Daine resumed her observing, a happy smile on her face. Snorting as she saw someone nearly fall off their stool, she realized she still hadn't seen Alanna or George.  _Maybe they're upstairs? Oh I could just text them!_ She looked around for her phone but couldn't find it.  _Did I bring it with me? Ugh n, o I think it's on the couch. I should stay here then in case Miri and Evin come back._ Pouting to herself, Daine slouched forwards, head propped up by her arm.  _This is boring without, Miri._ Scowling, Daine gave the place another cursory look.  _Wait a second. I know that face!_

Coming down the stairway was none other than Daine's new acquaintance, Numair. She watched as he stopped and had a few words with another well dressed guy.  _Figures he'd be here, according to Onua's tales._ Daine reached for her drink and found it disappointingly empty. Getting down from her seat, she held on to the table for a few seconds while trying to work through her sudden dizziness. Vision clear, she made her way to the bar, giving a friendly smile at the busy bartender. Grabbing a seat there, Daine waited her turn.

"Daine?"

She turned to face Numair.  _He looks great in all black… Darn._

"Hey!" She drew out the word, causing him to lift his eyebrows amusedly. "Hah, again! Hey again!"

"You getting another drink?"

"Mhmm! Once I finally get my turn…"

Numair leaned over the bar and gestured the bartender over. The other immediately dropped what they were doing and came over with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry boss, it's been really busy. Your drinks are almost ready."

"No problem. Just wanted to add my friend's order and a water too. Daine?"

 _Wait, boss? Was Numair Alanna's in? What does he even do?_ Daine rattled off her order and turned back to Numair, with a questioning look. "Boss?"

"Ah yes," Numair flushed. "Um yeah… Just a project. So are you here with anyone?"

Daine shook her head at his sad attempt at changing the subject. "I came with a couple of friends. They're dancing right now. Are Alanna and George here too?

"Yeah we're actually upstairs. Would you like to join us?"

Daine looked back at the crowd, looking for Miri.  _Ah there they are! Aw they look like they're having fun._ "Sure! If you don't mind?"

"Of course," Numair smiled at the bartender who had finally brought their drinks. Picking up the glass of water, Numair offered it to Daine. "C'mon," he said, noticing the stubborn look of refusal coming up on her face. "Drink or you'll regret it tomorrow."

 _Darn him, he's right._ Daine scowled at him before grabbing the glass and gulping down the water. Numair watched her bemusedly. Grabbing the drink tray, he asked, "Do you need to tell your friends here you're going to be or…?"

Daine looked back at her dancing friends. "I can just text them," she said, smiling at Evin's weird dance moves.

Walking with Numair, Daine nearly tripped again.  _Why did I think heels were a good idea?_ Numair laughed before quickly balancing the drinks in one hand and putting the other around her. "Maybe you've had enough to drink, huh?"

Daine leaned into him a bit, looking up at him.  _This is nice…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. A Proposition of Sorts

A couple of hours later found Daine in a giggling fit leaning against Alanna. Numair had led her upstairs to a more private lounge attached to an office where Alanna, George, Buri and even Raoul were there. At first she'd thought she'd be butting in, but things were back to normal in no time.  _It's weird how I though being away from these people would actually change anything… I miss them!_ Yolane had come in later too, led in by one of the bouncers. Interestingly enough, she'd only picked up a jacket from Numair before leaving in a huff. Alanna forced an explanation from a blushing Numair, who'd sheepishly explained he hadn't exactly enjoyed her presence. At all.  _She did seem grumpy…_ Alanna treated Numair like a younger brother, all teasing and shoving. Number took it like a sport and George just laughed. Raoul and Buri were also great to talk to, even though they did come down nearly every weekend. It was nice to be able to just relax and not stress about the future and plans and money… Catching up with old friends and meeting new ones were great too.

Life had been tough this last year. Daine had met Onua when she was a high schooler and Onua was her college-going neighbor. Onua introduced Daine to Alanna and Buri and the others when Daine got into the same school and soon she was part of the group.

The others were older, so when they graduated they all managed to great jobs after graduating. Daine wasn't as lucky. She graduated business school in the midst of one of the worst economic crises Tortall had seen in decades. She managed to scrape a position, a rather good one actually, in Carthak under arguably the most horrible genius ever, Ozorne. She was forced to quit to escape the horrible harassment he put her under and just couldn't find another job. Onua had taken her in, sisterly as she was, and Daine couldn't appreciate it more. She had also taken the break as an opportunity to focus more effort on planning her clinic, bad economy or not.

It had been nice to be able to move back to Tortall, even though it wasn't Corus. Being able to meet consistently with friends was great; they were basically the only family she had. Numair had been an odd new addition, namely because he'd joined the group late, transferring from Carthak to Tortall during grad school. He'd then spent a lot of time doing various internships and study abroad programs; really the only time the others knew him were because of classes and study sessions and those infamous grad school post-final parties. Daine never joined those because she, unlike her friends, was deathly allergic to humans on adrenaline. At least that's what she said every time they invited her. She had heard stories of him though, hilarious and often times completely unbelievable ones willingly publicized by both Alanna and Onua.  _Their stories definitely didn't do him justice though… He really is very nice. Although seeing him act like a hawk would be great._

"Evin texted you, Daine-y," George called, pulling her back to reality. Daine caught the phone Alanna tossed and checked it. Taking a second to decipher Miri's crazy drunken text-speech, she finally got that he and Miri were heading back. Daine looked back up at the others.

"Hey, my ride's leaving so I should probably go."

"No Daine! We haven't spoken in ages! One of us can drop you off?" Alanna asked, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

Daine checked the time on Evin's phone. It was late but not  _too_ late. Plus she didn't have work the next day. She grinned at the others, "Sure if it wouldn't be a problem."

"No problem! I'm staying at Onua's so I could drop you off if you live nearby?" Numair asked, adding more sugar to his coffee.

Daine nodded with a smile, taking another tiny sip from her drink. Noting her difficulty walking upstairs, Numair had strongly recommended she not take too much more.  _Dumb-dumb was right. At least I can walk now. And tomorrow will be more tolerable._ He also had her drink a ton of water.  _Honestly though, he's probably more of a mother hen than Thayet._ Now Daine was making her self-proclaimed final drink last as long as possible.

The conversation around them slowly died down a few hours later, leaving the friends in a comfortable silence. Daine had her head resting on Alanna's shoulder and Numair had migrated to the floor to make room for Buri's outstretched legs on the couch. George was humming some random tune, playing with Alanna's hair and Raoul had his head resting in his hands, random snores coming up every now and then.

Buri sighed, breaking the stillness of the moment. "Well, I'd better get this big lug home," she said, swinging her legs off. Pouring a glass of water from the jug, she offered it to Raoul, shaking his shoulder. "Come on, you big lightweight, you."

Raoul groaned, swatting at her. Buri scowled and shook him harder. Alanna scoffed at her. "That won't do anything to the giant. Pour that water on him."

Buri looked at Alanna, shrugged and dumped all the water on Raoul. He woke up with a yelp. "Leggo," she said bending to pick up her car keys from the coffee table. Raoul grumbled and rubbed his eyes, before standing up and stretching out his back with an incredibly loud pop. He mumbled out goodbyes as did Buri.

"I think Onua wanted to plan a dinner or something tomorrow, so text me the details!" Buri called out, walking out the door.

"Well lass, we should probably get going too. It's been a long day."

"Mhmm," Alanna said. Daine lifted her head off of her shoulder to let her move. Stretching out her neck, Daine tied her now frizzing hair into a practical bun. Unfolding her legs, she downed the rest of her drink, smiling at Numair's snort. He looked up questioningly at her from the floor next to her couch. She responded with a crooked smile.

"Hey do you know any hotels nearby?" George asked, depositing his glass onto the tray. Numair gave a short laugh as Daine turned to the couple in surprise. "Seriously?" she asked, disbelief all over her face.

"Lass, you honestly expect us to plan in advance?  _Us? Y_ ou've completely forgotten us!"

Daine rolled her eyes. "I just expected some change is all. It's my fault really, for even having expectations for you two." Alanna stuck her tongue out at that and Daine immediately responded in kind. Alanna and George soon left as well. Now it was just Numair and Daine. Daine helped him gather round the rest of the glasses and trash and just generally tidy up.

"So," he started, breaking the silence. "How was your day?"

"Good actually! Relaxing… Spent some time on the beach. Then went shopping. It was nice. How 'bout you?"

"It was good. Went out for lunch… Finally caught up on sleep and took a four hour nap. Got some work done."

Daine snorted. "Thanks again, for saving little old me from the horrible car."

"No problem! You seemed upset."

"Yeah… Just someone I don't ever want to hear from again."

"Hmm. Ready to go?"

"Daine grabbed her coat and clutch and nodded back at him.

The rest of the club was nearly empty, with just a few employees cleaning up.  _Wow it must be really late. Time flies…_ Numair dropped off the tray with the now exhausted looking bartender and they soon left. Surprisingly, the bartender called him "boss" again.

"Hey, Numair? Do you- I mean, are you…" Daine frowned, looking for a nice way to put her question.  _It'll probably be awkward anyways. We only met like a day ago!_

 _"_ Am I really his boss?" Numair rephrased for her, cutting through her thoughts.

Daine smiled up at him sheepishly. "Just wondering… Just… never mind."

"Actually that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I was going to bring it up tomorrow but…" He looked down at her as she struggled to put on her coat while walking. She looked up at him expectedly. "Well," he said, helping her. "I'm actually sort of an investor. I mean, yes I work for Jon but that's just within his company, investing I do on the side. This started out as just any other business proposal but the owners fell into some personal problems and I bought it from them… I always thought owning a club would be fun and it seemed like a interesting hobby-project. But back to what I wanted to talk to you about." He stopped and turned to face her. Daine frowned at the serious look on his face. "Your clinic idea is good. You have everything planned out and I feel like with just a few more tweaks you can sell it to anyone. See, I used to be a venture capitalist so I used to focus more on other sorts of businesses, namely software startups and such. I've gone through tons of proposals like yours. I turned to more a more corporate field a few years ago when I started working with Jon, so most of the things I invest in now I do so more as an angel investor… I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm really interested in your project. I'm sure it'll do well no matter how you fund it, but I just wanted to say I would love to be a part of it."

Daine looked up at him in shock. She could hardly believe it.  _All this time looking for an investor… And I find one when I'm not even looking?_ She quickly shut her mouth and looked back at him. "Thank you… I mean, I don't really know what to say."

"Nothing right now I guess… I mean you'll obviously want to take some time and I can give you some information about what I've done in the past so you know I'm not scamming you or anything," he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We can talk more about it tomorrow though. Are you free for lunch?"

"Yeah!"

"Cool," he turned stiffly, still rubbing his neck. Looking back down at her grin, he ruffled his hair and offered her his arm. She took it laughingly, savoring the added warmth.

The car was parked just a building away. Daine snorted as soon as she saw it.  _He'd obviously have a nice car given his job and Onua's versions of his lifestyle… But still. A Jaguar? Darn._  "Of course."

"Hmm?" Numair questioned.

"It's just, to-be-expected that you'd have a car like this. Forgetting to fill her up, though, just seems particularly blasphemous now."

Numair scowled, blushing. "I didn't forget…"

"You didn't? So you were just stuck in the middle of nowhere for no reason?"

He walked over to the passenger's side and opened the door for her, making sure she was comfortable before shutting it. Coming around the other side, he sat silently for some time before finally explaining, embarrassed, "I read about this one beach with distinctive sands due to some semi-rare mineral in the area so I decided to look for it and see for myself. It doesn't have a name or anything though so I couldn't use my GPS and… I…"

"You got lost!" Daine finished laughing. Numair mimicked her, mock glaring at her from the corner of his eye as he started up the engine.  _Wow the engine's almost as deep as his voice._ The thought sent her into another fit of giggles.

"Well, if my lady is done laughing at her poor knight in shining armor, she might teleth me where she liveth."

Daine wiped her tired eyes, still smiling. "Do you know how to get to Onua's place from here?"

"Um," he started, looking around. "No. I could use the GPS?"

That sent Daine into another laughing fit. "Stop," he said, drawing out the word like a whining child.

"Well, take a left here and then go straight till the last intersection. So, I'm assuming you ran out of gas looking trying to find your way around?"

Numair paused for a minute before nodding solemnly.  _Aw, he looks so sad! Fine I won't laugh this time._ "Ah, I see. So did you eventually find the place?"

"Yes I did! Well, I actually just saw it from a different beach but I know where it is now. It was beautiful… Most of it was red but there was some blue sand and white and it was more of a lagoon with cliffs on two sides… It was great."

"That sounds really nice! Ok, turn right here."

The road they were on ran right along the beach. The waves were crashing against the shore and everything else was quiet.  _It's so nice being out late…_ Some of the town's lights were still on on the right and sometimes the waves would reflect particularly bright ones, glittering in the darkness.

"It's beautiful," he echoed her thoughts. She sighed happily as they drove on. About five minutes later she spotted the familiar lights of her own little neighborhood. The houses here were mostly old vacation rentals, all on stilts and painted in pretty pastel colors. It was an adorable part of town, one tourists didn't often spend time at. The small mom-and-pop stores and cafes scattered along the main street were also a great place for locals to relax, yet the few tourists that wandered this far from downtown found them awfully kitschy.  _Thankfully… At least we get something to ourselves!_ There were window boxes full of bright little flowers at nearly every house and some had surfboards leaning against them. Daine's favorite part were the bare bulbs strung zig zagged across the main street. They were comforting to look at in the middle of a hard night.

"You can just pull over here," she said through a yawn. "It's just like a block away."

"Daine, It's late! I'm sure you can take care of yourself, but if it's just a block away, I can easily drive you. Should I take a right?"

Daine shook her head at his protectiveness. "Yeah. It's the last one on the right before the shops 'n all."

Numair soon pulled up in front of her house. Parking his car, he gave her a cheeky smile. "See how much easier that was? And you were going to walk… Tsk tsk."

Daine rolled her eyes at him. "Thanks. Where are you staying?"

"Well," he started," I thought I'd stay with Onua tonight but I just hope it's not too late. She wouldn't be asleep would she?"

"Nah. I remember her saying something about some marathon on tv this weekend so she'll be up. She was also texting Buri weird links right before they left and that was what, an hour ago? Less? You'll be good."

"Mhmm. Well, that's good. All the other hotels were booked when I last checked."

"Weren't you at a hotel?"

"Oh yeah," he smirked. "Yeah, I let Yolane have the room. Or rather, she got the room. But at least I got the dog."

Daine raised a brow. "You two… had a dog together?"

He chuckled. "Gods no, that would have been horrible. She was allergic to fur. And happiness. But anyways!"

Daine snorted. "Right, Onua's is just down this mainroad for about two blocks, then a left, then a right a block later," she illustrated each turn with her hand. "It's the green two story with a jungle for a front yard. It's hard to miss." She looked back at Numair, only to see he was watching her with a soft smile.

He snapped out of it and gave her a more gracious smile. "Well, thank you. So two, left, one, right, green garden house."

"Yup! And you want to plan lunch tomorrow morning?"

"Oh yes, right." He scrambled through his pockets for his phone. "Here, why don't you add yourself and I'll text you."

""Kay," she said, punching in her name and number. "Text me when you reach Onua's?"

His eyes crinkled. "Of course. Good night, Daine."

"Good night! And thank you again," she made her way out of the car, heels in hand. Turning back at her doorway she waved goodbye and only then did she hear the engine start.  _Tonight was quite unexpected_ …

Throwing her coat on the hook and emptying her clutch, she picked up sleepy Cloud and cuddled her with a smile. "It was great, Cloud!" she squealed, spinning around and watching her dress twirl. She put the fluffy cat down and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Sighing a few minutes later, she walked to the kitchen for some water when she heard a familiar buzz from her couch.  _Oh right, my phone!_  Digging it out from beneath some throw pillows, Daine was greeted by a buch of message notifications. Most of them were links and funny pictures from Onua,  _where does she even find half of these?,_ but at the top was a one from a new number. _Numair!_ Opening it, she read "Made it! Aren't you proud?" with a smiley face emoji. As she formulated a response, another response dinged. "Oh right, this is my number." Soon followed was, "By me I mean Numair…" Erasing what little she'd typed, Daine just sent a laughing emoji. _What a dork. "_ Good to know! Is Onua awake?" she texted back. "Yup!" was the near immediate response. "That's good!" she replied. Another yawn escaped her, bringing a few tears to her eyes. She added, "I'm going to head to bed. Text me about tomorrow?" She downed her water and made her way to the bedroom. Crawling under the covers, she checked his final text. "Alright! Good night," he wrote, with the creepy smiling moon emoji. Rolling her eyes, Daine put her phone for charge and hid her smile in her pillow. Things were finally looking good again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


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